The present disclosure describes epitaxial oxide devices with impact ionization. In some embodiments, a semiconductor device comprises: a first semiconductor layer; a second semiconductor layer coupled to the first semiconductor layer; and a first and a second electrical contact coupled to the second and first semiconductor layers, respectively. The first semiconductor layer can comprise a first epitaxial oxide material with a first bandgap and an impact ionization region. The second semiconductor layer can comprise a second epitaxial oxide material with a second bandgap that is wider than the first bandgap.
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4. The semiconductor device of claim 1, wherein the first bandgap is equal to or greater than 5 eV.
5. The semiconductor device of claim 1, wherein the second epitaxial oxide material is p-type.
6. The semiconductor device of claim 1, wherein the first and/or second electrical contact comprises a high work function metal.
7. The semiconductor device of claim 1, wherein the first and/or second electrical contact comprises Ni, Os, Se, Pt, Pd, Ir, Au, W or alloys thereof.
8. The semiconductor device of claim 1, wherein the first and/or second electrical contact comprises C, Co, Be, Rh, Te, Ge, Fe or Si.
9. The semiconductor device of claim 1, wherein the first and/or second electrical contact comprises a low work function metal.
10. The semiconductor device of claim 1, wherein the first and/or second electrical contact comprises Ba, Na, Cs, Nd or alloys thereof.
11. The semiconductor device of claim 1, wherein the first and/or second electrical contact comprises Rb, K, Eu, Sr, Pr, Yb, Sm, Dy, Ca, Pm, Ce, or Li.
12. The semiconductor device of claim 1, wherein the first semiconductor layer comprises a breakdown voltage per unit thickness from 1 MV/cm to 10 MV/cm.
13. The semiconductor device of claim 1, wherein the semiconductor device comprises a breakdown voltage from 100 V to 10,000 V at specific ON resistances from 10−4 to 1 mΩ-cm2.
14. The semiconductor device of claim 1, wherein the semiconductor device is configured to withstand a bias greater than 100 V applied across the first and the second electrical contacts without breaking down.
15. The semiconductor device of claim 1, wherein the first epitaxial oxide material comprises (AlxGa1−x)2O3, with 0≤x≤1.
16. The semiconductor device of claim 1, wherein the first epitaxial oxide material comprises Ga2O3 with an orthorhombic, hexagonal, monoclinic, cubic, tetragonal, rhombic or trigonal crystal symmetry.
17. The semiconductor device of claim 1, wherein the first epitaxial oxide material comprises Ga2O3, and the second epitaxial oxide material comprises Al2O3.
18. The semiconductor device of claim 1, wherein the first epitaxial oxide material comprises a material listed in the tables in FIGS. 76A-1 and 76A-2, and the second epitaxial oxide material comprises a material listed in the tables in FIGS. 76A-1 and 76A-2.
19. The semiconductor device of claim 18, wherein the first bandgap is equal to or greater than 5 eV.
20. The semiconductor device of claim 1, wherein the first epitaxial oxide material comprises Li.
21. The semiconductor device of claim 1, wherein the first epitaxial oxide material comprises Ni.
23. The semiconductor device of claim 1, wherein the first epitaxial oxide material comprises Ge.
24. The semiconductor device of claim 1, wherein the first epitaxial oxide material comprises a rare earth element.
25. The semiconductor device of claim 1, wherein the first epitaxial oxide material comprises a gradient in composition.
26. The semiconductor device of claim 1, wherein the second semiconductor layer comprises a tunnel barrier between the first electrical contact and the first semiconductor layer.
27. The semiconductor device of claim 1, wherein the semiconductor device is a light emission device, and wherein the impact ionization region comprises an optical gain medium.
28. The semiconductor device of claim 1, wherein the semiconductor device is an avalanche photodiode.
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May 23, 2022
September 17, 2024
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